In Love With You
by Bullet2tm
Summary: NarutoxSakura. Number of One-Shots, some follow the one story, others are stand alone. Other couples also featured: ShikaxIno, HinataxKiba etc. The journey from when Team 7 were together up until Naruto is Hokage. Feelings change, yet remain the same.
1. Drunk with the Hokage

**A/N: **_Here is a new one for SakuraxNaruto - and yes I'm going into the Drabbles business, however, this will be a bit different to the usual drabbles I've seen. Each chapter will be a different scene, but most of them will be the ONE story, if that makes sense. So its one story, but I'm telling it in a different order. And there will be other couples stories in between as well! Enjoy._

**In Love with You**

**Chapter 1: Drunk with the Hokage**

**

* * *

**"Hokage-sama!" exclaimed Konohomaru.

The blonde looked up and sighed. "What are you doing in here this late Konohomaru?" exclaimed Naruto, whom had just woken up himself. He had found that a piece of his paper work had stuck to his chin on the desk.

"There's been...an incident. Its...its Haruno Sensei!" he exclaimed worriedly.

Naruto's eye's widened in fear. "W-what's wrong?" he asked quickly, standing up from his desk and walking toward Konohomaru.

The young teen shook his head. "She's..."

* * *

"What's your friends name?" asked the man, looking toward the blonde, blue eyed woman.

"Who cares? This is the most fun I've seen her have since...since we were young," said Ino laughing at what Sakura had now begun doing in the bar.

The pink haired woman was now table dancing and began to strip slowly. She was drunk out of her mind after three bottles of sake between herself and Ino. Many people were whispering; of course recognising the pink haired medic as the Hokage's advisor. And much of the male population were admiring her beauty as well.

"What the hell is going on here Ino?" exclaimed a familiar angry voice.

The blonde was suddenly pulled away from the man whom she was speaking to and her eyes met that of her team mates. Her red cheeks rose up slightly due to her smile. "Shikamaru-kun, its so niiice of you to join me!" she exclaimed, placing her arms around his neck promptly and snuggling her head into the bottom of neck.

Shikamaru stood his ground and rolled his eyes. This was the last time he let Ino go out drinking with her friends, honestly. He looked around to find that Hinata dancing on the dance floor, Ten Ten challenging many males to a drink off, Sakura was table dancing and...stripping? And here was Ino chatting up some guy! He couldn't believe it. He could see the wondering eyes of various males to all the women in the bar, and many of them were on Ino as well; that is something he could not accept.

"Choji!" exclaimed Shikamaru. His said friend came barging in and picked up Ten Ten and Hinata with much protest, so therefore he had to use his jutsu to get them into a strong hold as he stormed outside the bar with them both underneath his now gigantic arms.

Shikamaru himself picked up Ino with an arm underneath her knees and one around her back and carried her out of the bar and he decided he would have to get Sakura in a minute, once Ino was home.

But it was too late, Sakura was in her underwear now. She was laughing and singing and winking at all the men around the bar. And..._he_ had arrived.

His baby blues stared straight at his pink haired team mate and he was fuming! Was this _really_ his advisor? His team mate? His Sakura-chan?

Naruto stormed through the bar and the music stopped.

"That's enough Sakura-chan, I'm taking you home!" he exclaimed madly as he picked her up quickly.

He stared with narrowed eyes at many men that had been touching her and eying her body; making them shiver and cower in fear.

The Hokage's cape dragged behind him and flew up in the air as he walked briskly outside.

"Naruto! I was having fun, you old fuddy duddy!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Naruto didn't dignify her comments with an answer and instead chose wisely to say nothing for fear of saying something he would regret. Honestly, they were nearly twenty one years old! Plus, the fact she looked so damned hot in her underwear made him blush and therefore made him much more angrier at her state. It was lucky that Shikamaru was on the ball and stopped this ridiculous escapade the girls seemed to always do on their nights off from missions.

He had much more important things to do! And how dare those men touch Sakura-chan like that! He was the Hokage and just wished he could pass a law that said that NO MAN was to touch her in a sexual manner! Or even look at her! Although Sakura never knew of Naruto's true feelings, he could still protect her from them and their sleazy hands. It made him so mad and could feel his Kyuubi begin to get worked up too. Luckily he had a mutual understanding with his beast, otherwise that bar wouldn't be standing right now.

Finally they reached Sakura's door step and that's when Naruto realised that he didn't have a key.

"Where are your keys?" he asked with a clipped tone.

Sakura however poked her tongue out at him. "I'm not telling!"

Naruto sighed. "Sakura-chan, I'm trying to help you," he said, a little more softly this time.

Sakura huffed. "I want to go back to the bar! I was having so much fun!"

The blonde narrowed his eyes. "Look, I'm not taking you back to those bastard guys who were touching you weirdly and just being...perverted! Just tell me where your damned keys are!" he exclaimed.

Sakura sighed. "I don't know okay?"

Naruto stopped himself from rolling his eyes and shook his head instead. "Fine." He jumped up onto the roof of the house and began roof jumping until he got to _his_ house.

Sakura began rambling on about how she was having fun and that Naruto had ruined it, but he simply ignored her until he got into his house. He laid her onto his bed and pulled up the covers.

"I'm not sleeping in your bed!" she exclaimed jumping out of it. "I'm going to teach you a lesson for ruining my night, Naruto!"

Naruto laughed. "And what the hell are you-"

Suddenly Naruto was slammed into his back wall. Of course it didn't hurt him, but he was just so surprised. He stood with his back against the wall with widened eyes...she still had her super strength in the state she was in? The pinkette was more talented than he gave her credit for.

The Hokage moved his head to the side slightly as a fist hit the wall beside it, cracking it considereably. However, if she had been sober, the whole wall would have shattered and crumbled.

That was it, Naruto would take no more of Sakura's drunk behaviour. She went to hit him again but Naruto was already beside her and grabbed her fist in mid air. He held it firmly, but not so much as to hurt her.

Sakura's emerald orbs widened in surprise and she gasped slightly before she was picked up and thrown onto the bed. The pink haired medic groaned as the after effects of being drunk began to take its toll on her. She looked up to find Naruto staring at her oddly, so she smiled.

"T-thank you Naruto," she smiled sincerely. "You...you always look after me, don't you?"

The blonde sighed and went and turned on the lights. He then went over to Sakura and began to take off her shoes. She was already in her underwear so there was no need to take anything else off her. He then realised that she _was_ still in her underwear and looked away; his cheeks becoming hot with the fact that she looked so beautiful.

Afterall, he had never had a semi-naked woman in his apartment, let alone a semi-naked Sakura in his bedroom before.

"What's wrong Naruto?" she asked, giving him a smirk. "Haven't you seen a woman before?"

The pinkette sat up, ignoring the headache that began to edge it's way around her eyes. She pulled Naruto closer, but for some reason, he didn't bother pulling back. His blush deepened as she pulled a bit harder; losing his footing as he fell on top of his team mate.

His face landed on top of her breasts and his body was between her legs. He pushed himself up a little with his arms either side of Sakura's shoulders at which Naruto's eyes widened. Sakura had gasped too, but realised she didn't really mind being this close to him at all.

"What happened to you Naruto? You used to be a trouble maker...you were loud mouthed, silly and perverted," smiled Sakura as Naruto stared at her with that odd look again.

Naruto frowned. Yes, he had been those things all those years ago. But he was the Hokage now, and he couldn't do this sort of...

Sakura leaned up and kissed him on the lips lightly before passing out.

The blonde Hokage sighed and pulled himself off the bed. He picked Sakura up slightly and placed her inside the covers of his single bed. He stood by the bed for a while just watching her.

He had been a fool back then at times, but he always did what he believed in. He had changed a lot, made new friends, become more and more powerful, defeated all his enemies and tamed his jinchuuriki. However, there is one thing that would never change. It was the way he felt about the semi-naked woman in his bed right now.

His blue ocean irises gleamed with happiness at how his life had turned out and he smiled with a reminiscent look in his eye. He truly believed that he could make her fall in love with him. And it would be real, not the lies she had told him once. Real love.

The Hokage walked over, turned off the lights and proceeded to lie down on his couch.

* * *

**Extra:**

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head as he sat on the side of his bed thinking about the events of tonight. He looked behind him to find Ino snoring softly, her long blonde hair sprawled everywhere across her pillow.

Why did she always think that she wasn't good enough for him?

_"Ino, what the hell were you thinking? You didn't really chat that guy up did you? He works with me in my division you know!" asked Shikamaru in a clipped tone. _

_The blonde looked away from him and took a deep breath. After all, she wasn't 'chatting him up'. She wanted to see if she still 'had it'. If she was still able to get who she wanted, when she wanted. She wanted to know in her heart that she was good enough for Shikamaru, and if he still saw her as a beautiful woman!_

_"I just..."_

_"I told you, I can't be bothered with this shit, I mean, I have other things to worry about Ino," said Shikamaru, looking at his blonde girlfriend intensely. "And what the hell are you wearing? Is that supposed to be a skirt? Because it looks more like underwear."_

_"I wanted to make sure I'm good enough for you, that's all. I just, I don't want you to get sick of me," said the girl. _

_Shikamaru's eyes widened. _

The pineapple haired man sighed as he always did.

"Women, they're so troublesome," he said to no one in particular, and proceeded to lay down in his side of the bed. However, his comment hadn't been said with his usual scowl.

And as he lay his head on the pillow next to Ino's sleeping form; his arms folded behind his head in a relaxed state, a small smile proceeded to edge it's way around his mouth with satisfaction.

* * *

**A/N: **_That's it for now! To answer some anticipated questions, I am aware that it seems uncharacteristic but most people are when they're under the influence of alcahol. Naruto is much more mature, and being the Hokage, he has to now be more responsible, which is probably why he's not as hyperactive about being close to Sakura and also his behaviour toward her at the bar. Oh and the extra part at the end was something I wanted to add because I think Ino and Shikamaru are great together! Please read and review!_

_Bullet2tm_


	2. Taken Over

__

__

**A/N: **_Hi, this one is a bit different, but, still the same story (a bit out of character)_

**In Love With You**

**Chapter 2: Taken Over**

* * *

"Ninja Art: Rasen-Shuriken!" yelled Naruto, throwing his newest formed jutsu toward the enemy.

And of course it hit, didn't it?

Sakura was always amazed at how it glowed so brightly...and the sound it made! It was so powerful. She turned her emerald orbs toward Naruto who was up the front. He was so powerful.

His jutsu hit the enemy and he was held up by the force of the Naruto's jutsu as each part of his attack punched through the enemy's chakra veins. Sai, herself and Yamato rushed over toward Naruto who had already ran over to the body of the enemy. He was unknown at the moment. Their mission had been to collect something, but, they hadn't been told what it was exactly. In fact, Tsunade had been very cryptic about it. For some reason, it really irked Sakura. Her Master had an odd look upon her face; a knowing look, and it bothered her greatly. But of course it would work out in the end, right? It always did. And as they began to feel disheartened at not finding what they were after, the enemy attacked. And it was only one person; the one whom was now lying at the feet of the World's Loudest Ninja.

"Naruto!" exclaimed Sakura whom rushed over and stopped right next to her team mate.

Naruto was looking down with a frown upon his face, just gazing into the enemy's eyes. He was standing there for five minutes at least and none of them could work it out. Sakura finally decided, after giving Sai and Yamato a look of concern, to place a soft, slender hand upon her friend at which Naruto snapped his head toward Sakura with what appeared to a scowl.

The pink haired medic almost gasped in surprise...and shock. She had never seen a look like that upon his face before. It was almost, animalistic. But then again, yes she had.

_The nine tailed fox. The Kyuubi._

"N-Naruto?" she exclaimed. "A-Are you..."

He stepped away from her and shook her hand off his arm. He looked toward Sai and Yamato and snarled.

"Change of plans," smirked Naruto. "But I will have what I came for."

Yamato's eyes narrowed, before beginning to form hand signs. He slammed his hand into the ground, but Naruto was already gone. Sai began to run after him, even though he had no idea where he had gone, but Yamato grabbed his elbow; effectively stopping him from leaving. He shook his head and looked to Sakura who seemed to be in a trance.

What...what had just happened? He was fine, and then... thought Sakura before she jerked her eyes toward the body below her. She knelt down onto one knee and formed the hand seals for her medical jutsu. As her hands lit up with a green chakra forming around her fingers, her eyes showed determination and they brought her index finger and middle finger across from the enemy's head down to their toes. Her eyes narrowed.

Yamato was hesitant to ask, somehow knowing that the result would be bad. "W-what is it Sakura?" he asked with a frown, giving another look to Sai whom looked away and back to Sakura.

The medical kunoichi sighed and shook her head in a confused manner. "It...this isn't right," said Sakura. She suddenly turned toward Yamato and Sai. "This man...his chakra channels, they're..."

"They're what?" asked Yamato, taking a step forward. "Well, they're severed, as I would expect from Naruto's attack. But there's something attached to them."

Their team leader frowned and put a thumb and index finger to his chin in thought. "We'll have to take him with us, back to the Fire Country."

Sakura nodded and Sai remained silent, his eyes upon Sakura in curiosity. He recognised this moment from a book, but he chose wisely to remain silent for once.

"What did it look like? The thing that is attached to that man's chakra channels?" asked Yamato curiously.

Sakura thought back and then looked at her leader. "It was some kind of dark chakra, but, it was only the residue. We'll need to consult Neji or Hinata about a further diagnosis when we get back. I couldn't see it, but, it interferred with my healing technique."

The pinkette couldn't think of anything else right now, except the look in Naruto's eyes; she had a bad feeling that the odd chakra she could tell was there had something to do with Naruto's behaviour. Like it had now left the body of the enemy and had entered her team mate's body now.

_Naruto!_

* * *

_"What are you saying Tsunade?" asked her former student. _

_The blonde Hokage shook her head and looked to Shizune with a knowing smile. "I think this will be a good lesson, plus, the matter will dissapate after a certain time which is why it was disbanned. However, I suspect that Sakura will solve it. I think that she will find a way to dissolve it before this, and then we will have a sample to work with."_

_Shizune shook her head with disapproval. "And in the time that the matter is allowed to move around into people's bodies, anything could happen. And what happens if Naruto is the one who absorbs it?" _

_Tsunade sighed. "Then it will be a good lesson for him too, you do know what the chakra matter does don't you?" asked Tsunade with a coy smile. _

_Shizune frowned. "Well I just hope this doesn't turn out bad, especially with the Kyuubi inside of Naruto."_

_The Last Sanin raised her eyebrows. "And what makes you think it will be him?" _

_"Its always him. But if you believe in him, then so will I Shishou."_

Tsunade raised her eyebrows. So, Shizune had been right. Naruto had been the one to absorb it. She acted shocked, angry and disappointed yelling and screaming at Yamato. She slammed her fist into her desk and looked to Sakura. "Then there is nothing we can do."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Can you at least examine the body, Master?" asked Sakura, beginning to feel angered by the Hokage's lack of will to help so far.

Tsunade shook her head, and Shizune simply looked away from the pinkette's gaze for fear of revealing something with her eyes.

"There's no point, and I have things to do. Naruto will come back, he always does," said Tsunade. "You're dismissed, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes remained wide with despair. Would he really come back? Why was Tsunade being so dismissive! She ran out of the room quickly before anyone could see that tears had began to fall down her cheeks. She was Kunoichi for gods sake! And ninja's didn't cry, did they? Of course, the life they lead always had the chance that people you loved would die or wouldn't come back from missions, Sakura was aware of this. But Konoha and all their Hokage's had always, always had a name for never leaving their ninja's behind; no matter what the situation or the reasons.

They kept searching for Sasuke because he was from Konoha. Mostly because he was a missing-nin and he was a criminal, but they allowed Team 7 to search for him to bring him home.

Sakura shook her head as the cool breeze from the now mid-afternoon air brushed her body. _Why won't they allow me to search for Naruto?_

Eventually her legs had brought herself to her apartment. She sat on the edge of her bed, still thinking about how...wrong this whole situation was.

"I thought you'd be here," said a voice she hardly recognised.

The pink kunoichi gasped as she got up quickly, grabbing a kunai knife in a combat position and holding it toward her team mate.

"N-naruto!" exclaimed Sakura, not wanting to aim her kunai knife at her friend, but he wasn't himself.

The blonde walked toward her calmly with another smirk upon his face. He was cool, calm and almost...a bit like Sasuke. And all Sakura could think right now was how evil he looked. His blonde locks fell against the side of his face slightly and he looked Sakura up and down.

"You know, I've always loved you, but I'm wondering..."

"Don't you finish that sentence, don't you ruin anything!" exclaimed Sakura, throwing the knife toward Naruto's chest.

He simply moved slightly to the left and watched it lodge into her front door. "Wow! That was close, you're really a fiery one aren't you? Always beating me up when I annoy you, but I think it actually turns me on," smirked Naruto, with a small chuckle at the end. He kept advancing toward Sakura, until she reached the wall next to her kitchen.

Sakura's eyes widened. "You didn't think that you could hurt me, did you? Hell, I beat the shit out of those bastards who called themselves the Akatsuki, did you really think that you could defeat someone like me?" he asked leaning close to her ear, his breath sending chills down her spine.

The pinkette shook her head sadly. "Naruto, I know this isn't you," she smiled warmly. The blonde moved his face toward hers and kissed her roughly; his arms clenched tightly around her upper arms. Her eyes widened out of surprise and then closed.

Am I actually enjoying this? she thought to herself. No, she wasn't. And once she worked that out, it was all over.

Her fist connected with Naruto's face, and sent him flying through her door (which shattered into tiny pieces at the impact) and across the street for at least 100 metres. Sakura raced out to find Naruto beginning to get up, but the smirk upon his face hadn't left, however, it had faltered.

He brought a hand to his lip and his tongue licked the blood that had formed due to a massive cut she had caused.

"First of all, you didn't defeat all of the Akatsuki. Second, how dare you kiss me without my permission! And third, I can safely say that Naruto would never do or say anything that you have said and done just now. He's a good person, he's kind, caring and most of all is respectful...well, most of the time. And I can also tell that you're none of those things, you bastard!" exclaimed Sakura.

She noticed several bystanders watching the scene with curiosity and also a bit of fear at realising who was involved.

Naruto began to get up but for some reason, something held him down. His body wouldn't move. Damn it...damn you Naruto you bastard, he thought to himself. The good part of him was coming through again, and he wouldn't let it. He would get what he came for. And the thing he wanted most, was Sakura Haruno. He would have her no matter what! But he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.

Sakura also noticed a change in him. Why wasn't he getting up? She didn't hit him that hard, did she? She looked around and noticed that a part of her door came with him as he had fallen. More specifically, the door handle. Fancy that? She walked over closer to Naruto, bent down and picked up the handle. The medical ninja looked at it carefully.

What is it made of anyway? she pondered to herself.

"What ever you're thinking of Sakura, its useless. Nothing can hurt me, only you," said Naruto with an angry scowl upon his face. The expression he usually had toward enemies, such as Orochimaru or even their former team mate Sasuke. But never her.

Sakura sighed and smiled toward Naruto. She bent down close toward his face, causing surprise to etch across his face suddenly. "But you said I couldn't hurt you."

She shoved the door handle debre into Naruto's chest and he began to howl.

So, my hypothesis was right, she thought. But Naruto pushed her away weakly. The pinkette fell to the ground, onto her knees but it didn't deter her; she knew the weakness now. She went to get up to weaken him further, however, it was too late.

The blonde began to smirk once again and got up slowly. Naruto towered over Sakura at which she crawled backwards.

"And now, the grand finale," said Naruto, whom was at full strength now. "I get what I want."

Sakura's eyes widened as she tried to crawl backwards quickly, but, Naruto grabbed her red vest and lifted her up with one hand. Her body hung limply and she moved her legs around, trying to get him to drop her. But he didn't let go.

_He's...strong..._

"You shouldn't have hit me Sakura-chan, it just makes me angry. And then you figured out my weakness, so now I have to kill you after I get what I came for," explained Naruto, shrugging his shoulders at what he had to do to her. "And its just such a waste."

Sakura's eyes widened. "And what is it that you came for, Naruto?"

Naruto laughed. "You." But instead of getting the reaction he was after, he noticed Sakura was smiling. His laughter faded, his smirk faded and it was replaced with an angered look. "What the hell are you laughing at?"

"You didn't notice did you?" she asked, but not before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Naruto frowned.

_Ha ha. Your power is fading, I can feel it. You didn't even notice that Sakura-chan's true chakra was in the bushes by her house_, said the real Naruto.

Naruto clenched his fists and snarled.

"Fuck!" he yelled as his eyes fell onto where Sakura seemed to be hiding, according to her chakra signature of course.

The blonde stormed over to the bushes, but couldn't spot her visually.

"Nice trick," said Naruto, his smirk returning. "And once I find you, I'm going to have to punish you even more than I was going to."

Sakura hid behind a tree trunk and held some metallic dust in her hands.

While Naruto had been busy with her clone, she took the door handle from her front door grinded it inta a sharp peice of wood that stuck out from a tree. She was sure it was his weakness, and that's what was affecting the substance Naruto had absorbed. She was going to get it out of him, and quick. But what she didn't know was that people had been watching them the whole time. Otherwise, there would have been ninja to her aid ages ago.

_Where is everyone? Surely someone would have noticed our fight and raised voices!_ thought Sakura.

Sweat beads fell from her forehead freely. She had to make sure Naruto didn't detect her...

"There you are princess," said a voice.

Sakura's eyes widened.

_Okay, Plan B._

The pinkette placed her hands behind her back; clasped together. Her emerald orbs shone with innocence and her lips pouted sensually. Naruto walked toward her slowly and had an lustful look upon his face. She smiled at him; her breasts sticking out as she had planned.

"Naruto-kun," she said, her voice full of seduction.

Naruto smiled finally, walking the extra metre toward her. And just as he was about to ravage her where she stood, she brought her hand to his cheek. The blonde closed his eyes from her touch. Her hand was smooth, and warm and he had dreamed of this moment for so long.

Sakura brought her face toward his but stopped inches away. "I'm sorry, Naruto." She brought the hand with the dust in it and blew it in his face.

Her team mate coughed as he breathed it in. His first reaction was to kill her, but found that he couldn't move as his body fell limp as he fell to the ground. Naruto's eyes were full of hate, anger but most of all betrayal.

Sakura stood above him with pity and she realised that everything he had become because of the thing he absorbed brought out a different person. It definitely wasn't him, however, she couldn't help think that it was his dark side, and everyone had one. Obviously that's what the weird substance did. Now she wanted to know what it was.

She bent down to inspect Naruto because there was a chance that what she did could kill him, however, her prayers were answered when she saw some black ooze slide out of Naruto's ears, mouth, nose and eyes.

It was over. She bent down and kissed his forehead lightly, listening to his even breathing.

* * *

"What?" exclaimed the pinkette angrily.

Tsunade sighed. "Well, I knew you would figure it out."

Sakura sighed, trying to calm herself down before she killed someone. "And what would have happened if I hadn't?"

"Then you would have failed, but, the matter dissapates after a while anyway," shrugged the Hokage with a smug look upon her face.

"So it was a test?" she exclaimed with an expression that could kill.

Shizune smiled at how it had all turned out. All along she had thought that Naruto's greatest want would be to kill everyone, but in the end, his greatest want was her.

_OH! Love is in the air!_ thought Shizune with hearts in her eyes.

"And what the hell are you smiling about?" exclaimed Sakura, a fist in the air at the black haired woman.

"Oh nothing. You did great Sakura. It was surprising, but...revealing at the same time?" said Shizune with raised eye brows; gauging Sakura's reaction.

The newest medical ninja turned red at realising what Shizune was getting at. _Yes, but deep down I've alway known, haven't I?_

* * *

Naruto jumped upright in the hospital bed. He felt himself and sighed in relief. _I'm back..._

He got up quickly and searched for her. All along he could see what he was doing, but couldn't make himself stop. The things he said...the things he had done to Sakura! Would she forgive him? Would it ever be the same between them?

The blonde ran through the halls. People tried to stop him, but he was on a mission; his own mission. He asked various nurses where his team mate was and then finally someone told him that she wasn't at the hospital.

He ran out of the hospital entrance quickly, he raced to all the places he thought she would be, but to no avail. _Where is she?_

Finally, he ran into Ino. "Ino!" exclaimed Naruto. He slowed and then finally stopped in front of his comrade.

He was out of breath but could see a sly look upon Ino's face. He looked up and saw that Shikamaru was with her; buying her something from the stall.

"Have you seen Sakura-chan?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, maybe. Depends on why you're looking for her..."

Naruto sighed in frustration. "Come on Ino, its important mission stuff..."

Ino raised her eyebrows. "Really? Because she told me that she has the next few days off missions, as per the instructions from Hokage-sama," said Ino with a mischevious look in her eye.

Shikamaru had been watching both his girlfriend and Naruto and he felt sorry for his friend. It had gone on long enough.

"She's at the training ground," said the lazy ninja, which earned him a hard punch in the arm from his girlfriend.

"Thanks Shikamaru!" exclaimed Naruto, waving behind him as he ran off quickly.

"What the hell, Shika?" exclaimed Ino. "I wanted him to tell me what was going on. Sakura's been acting weird today."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Its too troublesome to think about. Women are complicated."

Ino smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "But you love it."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." He wrapped his arm around Ino's shoulders and they walked slowly to where ever they were going.

* * *

He ran through the bushes and found the clearing they had trained in a long time ago, back when Sasuke was in the village and when he was always known as the Worlds Loudest Ninja. And there was Sakura, sitting where they had sat, eating what appeared to be rice with tofu.

It always made Naruto cringe when he thought about her choice in food, but what ever rocked her boat suited him fine.

"Hey Sakura-chan," said his scratchy voice, had his hand behind his head again, which seemed to be his trait when he was nervous. Though no one could ever tell when he was nervous because he had always been so confident and out going. However, Sakura always knew.

Sakura hadn't got up or turned around yet. She placed her bowl to the side, put her hands on the ground to lift herself up and turned with a curious look in her eyes.

"Hey, Naruto," she said with a half smile. "You shouldn't be up yet, you baka!"

But Naruto didn't respond. He wanted to say his apology to get it over and done with.

"Look, Sakura-chan...about what happened...will you...will you forgive me?" he asked with a serious look upon his face.

This time Sakura didn't respond. She walked over toward him until she was barely a metre away. She didn't have a smile either, her face serious as if she were about to pummel him. Naruto clenched his fists, preparing himself for what was to come.

She lifted her hand up and placed it on his cheek; her lips curling into a kind smile.

"Oh Naruto, of course. It wasn't you, and I know that! And you made me realise something," said Sakura, looking to the ground for support as he hand left his cheek and was placed on his shoulder instead.

The blonde's cheeks began to get very hot and he felt similar to what happened when he had been taken over. Because even though, yes, it wasn't him, at the same time he had wanted to do what that stuff had made him do easily.

"You made me realise that I care about you very, very much and you're very dear to me Naruto. You could never ruin what we have because...you're you!" smiled Sakura. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek lightly and moved away.

She walked away, however, he didn't move. He could still smell her and could still feel her soft lips that had been placed upon his cheek. Naruto smiled happily, not realising that Sakura had left at least five minutes ago.

_One day..._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: _Hey, that's it for now, please read and review. Sorry for how long this is, but it just kept going and going, I couldn't stop! _**


	3. The Truth about Sakura Haruno P1

**A/N: **_Another chappie, this is a long one, but, please read and review._

**The Truth about Sakura Haruno**

**Part I**

* * *

_She ran as fast as she could. The sounds of her footsteps running across the pavement was all that she could hear and her huffing and puffing for running without stopping. Would she make it? Tears ran down her cheeks and she felt flustered, but she was going to do this. It was dark, so no one was around; something she was thankful for. She couldn't bare for anyone to see her in this state._

_After all, she was the strong Medical kunoichi Sakura Haruno. The student who had now surpassed the great legendary Sannin and Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Sakura had since become an idol, along with the rest of her team mates in her generation. Their generation had cast away many of the threats to their land and kept their village safe._

_But right now, she was all alone, just running._

_There were very rare times in between the hospital, missions and the many threats that seemed to come their way but in between that was her only free time. And lately, over the past year, she had come to realise one fact and after many observations and interactions with many of her friends and comrades that one day they would be past the prime of their lives._

_Sakura ran around a corner as fast as she could. She was almost there. Her thoughts and the dark night were all that kept her going at the moment. The tears however, hadn't stopped._

I am such an idiot_, she thought. I have to do this._

_Finally she reached her destination and knocked on the door. She huffed and puffed, gasped for air and hunched herself over with her palms on her knees when the door opened._

_"S-sakura-chan?" stuttered the young man with a curious look upon his face. His ocean blues studied Sakura's form for a few seconds before she stood up straight and smiled kindly._

_"Naruto. I-are you going to let me in you baka?" she exclaimed furiously, appalled at his rudeness at the moment. She narrowed her eyes and Naruto gasped in fear._

_"Ah sure! Of course! Come in Sakura-chan," he said quickly before he got a bashing._

_Sakura stomped in and looked around at the pig sty her team mate lived in and shook her head in disgrace._

_"This house is disgusting! What kind of ninja can live in a place like this?" she asked angrily._

_Naruto's widened and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly in shame and he began explaining._

_But for once, she wasn't listening. He was trying to justify himself to her, but all she could see was Naruto being Naruto. And instead of the reaction he was expecting, he surprised her by smiling genuinely._

_"I came for a reason."_

_Naruto scratched his head in confusion. He walked a bit closer, in fact, he towered over her now._

I guess he's grown even more_, she thought to herself._

_"You did?" he asked dumbly._

_She giggled. "Yes Naruto, I did."_

_Naruto sat down at his dining table and waited._

_"I know you think I lied that time I told you I loved you. And I did, well, I thought I did. But I really have to tell you that I do. I love you, Naruto," said Sakura, her emerald orbs filling with tears. "I didn't know what else to do, I had to tell you before..."_

_But Naruto stood up before she could say anything else. She was expecting him to come and hug her...or kiss her or something, but he just stood about metre away unable to work out what to do or say._

_"Sakura-chan...I-its too late," said Naruto, his eyes filled with determination and also sadness._

_Sakura's eyes widened slightly for a few moments before frowning. Now she was the one confused. She couldn't say anything. That's why she had ran as fast as she could wasn't it, before it was too late?_

_"Its just...too late," he said much more softly, and more to himself. He was trying to tell himself it was too late because it was...wasn't it?_

_The pink haired medic nodded once, wiped her tears away and walked out the door silently. After all, she'd just been rejected hadn't she? And by Naruto, of all people. Naruto the one who had a crush on her since they first formed a team together in the Academy._

_Naruto watched her leave and all he could do was stand there with clenched fists and bow his head in shame. He truly believed her this time, and as much as he had wanted her to say those words truthfully to him, it was just too late. He looked at the time and realised it was time to go. _

Hinata's waiting for me...

* * *

The sun was shining and the day had just begun. Sakura Haruno stretched and looked outside her window.

_What a wonderful day,_ she thought, as she turned and walked toward her door. She picked up her ninja belt as she walked out her door, ready for the day ahead of her.

She strolled slowly to the hospital, taking in the sunlight however, ahead of her was a crowd of ninja's whom had obviously just got back from a mission with several injured in hand. Her emerald orbs turned stern as she rushed as fast as she could to the hospital.

When she got there, several beds were being occupied by jounin, chuunin and some genin ninjas. Many of their team mates stood by their beds as they were being tended too; much to the nurses frustration. Sakura however, busied herself straight away by grabbing charts and making the executive decisions as to whether they needed surgery or could wait.

_Where was Tsunade-sama?_ thought Sakura.

The pink haired medic sighed and realised everything was a mess, the staff were in hysteria from all the injured ninja who just arrived, they didn't know what to do! She would have to take care of things until her Master got back...from where ever she was.

"Okay," exclaimed Sakura with a raised voice, grabbing the nurses attention. "You three, attend to the wounded, find out who needs surgery straight away and who needs minor attention."

The three nurses she pointed to nodded. "When that is done, place the minor injured over here in those beds and the ones who needs surgery straight away put on those beds."

The nurses nodded as Sakura pointed toward the beds to her left and then the ones in the middle. They were in the emergency room at the moment, so the beds were all over the room in rows with no seperators or curtains. The nurses went to work quickly.

"You four will come with me to the surgery room and we will have to perform the surgery quickly," began Sakura, her emerald orbs determined. "You two will stay and tend to the minor wounded."

"Hai Sakura-sama!" said the two she pointed to. And the four she motioned to come with her at once. They ran to the ninja that needed surgery and ran their beds into the surgery room.

* * *

Sakura sat outside the hospital doors and wiped her sweating forehead. It was the most extreme day she'd ever had, being that their esteemed leader was no where to be seen and she had to take care of the whole running of the hospital so that the Leaf ninja that had come in wounded, would be saved.

She looked up as she heard clapping from behind her.

"Well done Sakura," said a blonde nurse from behind her, causing Sakura to frown and get up quickly to determine the sanity of this nurse.

"T-thank you?" stammered Sakura, unsure of what to make of this person.

The nurse wore her hair in two pig tails which were held back into a pony tail, and a mask over her face. She took off her mask and smiled.

"Shishou?" exclaimed Sakura angrily, narrowing her eyes. "You were there the whole time!"

Tsunade pulled out the pony tail, to reveal her normal hair style and took off the white nurses gown to reveal her normal attire of a green coat, three quarter blue slacks and grey training top.

"You did great," smiled Tsunade. "You saved the lives of twenty of our ninja at least and in the absense of your amazing leader..._me_!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and began to walk away.

"Wait, Sakura," said the blonde, which caused her student to stop.

She turned and looked to her teacher with annoyance in her emerald orbs. It was getting dark now and she was tired, what else did Tsunade want?

"I'm happy to say...you've surpassed me. I want you to take over as Director of this hospital when I retire," said Tsunade, with a determined look in her eye. "Will you?"

Sakura frowned. Her stomach began to do loops and she felt so honoured for her Master to give her this task, but at the same time she was angered at how she knew that Tsunade had been testing her when she was under pressure.

"Ask me tomorrow Shishou," said Sakura tiredly.

She waved behind her and left Tsunade looking at her students retreating form with a proud expression and a smile.

There was something missing in Sakura's life, and she knew exactly what it was.

* * *

_Emerald orbs widened suddenly, and she sat up. Who was knocking on her door so loudly? _

_"Yes?" she asked, as she rushed to the door in her underwear and shirt. As she pulled the door open more widely, she found her blonde friend standing at the door step. _

_"Billboard-Brow...you're not up yet?" Ino asked with a frown. _

_Sakura motioned Ino inside and walked toward her kitchen; starting the kettle to boil. _

_"What is it Ino?" asked the tired pinkette, whom got some mugs from her kitchen cupboard and began to put tea bags in them. _

_The blonde was looking at the surrounding room with wonder. "I don't think I've actually been in your house before..."_

_"The point, Ino...what are you doing here?" asked Sakura as she now was putting sugar in the mugs. _

_"Oh, I don't have sugar," said Ino in a picky manner. _

_The pinkette sighed and tipped the sugar out into the sink and turned her gaze toward the blonde pointedly. Ino turned noticing Sakura's intense look and smiled. _

_"Heard you had a rough night," explained Ino. _

_"Oh? And you wanted to brag about it to rub it in?" asked Sakura, pouring the boiled liquid into the mugs. _

_Ino shook her head and smiled. "No silly. I thought we'd gotten over our grudge..."_

_Sakura scoffed as she began to stir both mugs with teaspoons, and went to the fridge for some milk. _

_"Well I thought so too, until you started competing with me...what about last night Ino?" asked Sakura, as she poured milk into the mugs, and put it away promptly. _

_"Look, Naruto didn't leave last night. He's still here," said Ino mysteriously with raised eye brows. _

_The blonde walked over toward Sakura's kitchen bench and grabbed the mug from her with a nod. She brought the hot liquid to her lips and sipped quietly. _

_Sakura had her back turned with the mug in her hands; she still hadn't taken a sip yet. _He probably hasn't left yet because it was delayed, _thought Sakura. _

_"And why should I care about that?" asked Sakura. _

_Ino put her mug down onto the bench and placed a soft hand on her friend's shoulder, causing Sakura to turn her emerald orbs toward Ino's hazel ones. She was searching for lies in Ino's eyes, but found none. She was genuine. Ino was trying to be a friend. Sakura had thought that since their friendship had fallen to peices long ago that it could never repair again, but Ino was the one trying. The blonde was selfish, shallow and competitive, but _she_ was the one wanting to be friends again. _

_Sakura put her mug down and turned toward Ino. She hesitated, but finally, she reached toward Ino and hugged her tightly. Tears began to fall down her cheeks freely now, she couldn't stop them. _

_Ino was so surprised, she put down her mug, but after the surprise left her she wrapped her arms around the pinkette, soothing her sorrow. _

_"Oh Sakura, what happened to you?" she asked softly, genuinely feeling sorry for her friend. "You work too hard, you need to relax. Naruto hasn't left yet anyways."_

_"I-it doesn't matter, Ino," sobbed Sakura, her chin resting on her friends shoulder. "H-he rejected me!"_

_Sakura pulled away and looked away from the blonde. "_He_ rejected _me_! After all the years of him loving me, he rejected me. I was too late! It's all my fault, I was too shallow and insensitive. Why didn't I just accept his dates?"_

_Ino sighed and shook her head. "You're not insensitive and shallow Sakura...you were, but you're not anymore. I was too," said Ino with a reassuring smile._

_Sakura took a breath and looked away for a moment. _

_"Hinata left last night..._without_ Naruto."_

_This statement took Sakura by surprise. _He left without her? _she thought. _Why?

* * *

"T-thank you N-naruto-kun," smiled the white orbed woman, as they walked through the gates of Konoha. Naruto noticed some leaves stuck in Hinata's hair, which he took out promptly. He smiled back at her and looked toward their home village.

_Yep, it was good to be back,_ he thought.

"Woof!" exclaimed the large white dog named Akamaru, and wagged its tail; walking through the large gates also.

"Well, I'm glad we're back, that was the worst mission I've ever been on!" sighed Kiba with his arms linked behind his head boredly. He looked to the two ninja conversing and cringed inwardly.

"C'mon Akamaru, cya guys, I'm gonna head straight to Tsunade's office," exclaimed Kiba, who ran ahead.

"Okay Kiba-kun," smiled Hinata, waving.

"Yeah, what ever," said Naruto, looking away.

He kept staring at Hinata, but looked away when he saw her looking. What was wrong with him? "Um, I'm going to head over to Tsunade's office," said Naruto awkwardly, beginning to run ahead.

"Okay. N-naruto-kun, wait," said Hinata. "I'm heading there too, why don't we walk together?"

Naruto stopped in his tracks and sighed quietly. He turned and smiled. "Sure, why not?"

Ever since he heard her say those words...it had been awkward hadn't it? But for some reason, lately, he couldn't stop feeling sick around her. He noticed things about Hinata, that he hadn't noticed before. For example, how shiny and beautiful her hair was, about how womanly she really looked underneath that big baggy jumper she wore, how pretty her eyes were, but most of all, he noticed the way she looked at him. It made him feel...uneasy.

He had accepted the mission Tsunade gave him with the knowledge that Hinata was going to be on his team. It was a relatively short mission; he didn't like to be gone for too long since the destruction of the city, so he didn't object. And he knew now, without a doubt, that she was in love with him.

Naruto placed his hands behind his head and looked up into the now darkened sky. He breathed in the cool air and looked over to Hinata and smiled.

* * *

Sakura definitely needed rest. Her eyes were almost as heavy as cement; forcing themselves closed and her limbs felt fatigued and sore. _Damn that Tsunade,_ she thought.

As she turned the corner she felt a cold breeze and now wished she had brought a jacket. She sighed audibly and continued her walk, until she heard voices.

First she heard a dog barking excitedly and realised it was Akamaru; obviously Kiba had returned from a mission. She looked over to the other side of the street to see Kiba run past quickly, heading toward Tsunade's office. He didn't see her, but then she noticed two other familiar figures.

It made her cringe, could it be? _Naruto!_ she thought. He was back.

He was walking along with Hinata. He was about to run toward them, however, Naruto took off his jacket and wrapped it around Hinata tenderly. Sakura's eyes widened in realisation.

_Was there something going on between them? How could Naruto not tell me?_ she thought.

Hinata looked up to Naruto with a smile, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Sakura didn't go over to them; she didn't even look anymore. She went home quietly, and alone, because something was bothering her about what she just saw and she didn't know what it was.

Meanwhile...

"Is that better Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto pulling away. He turned his head suddenly and looked over to the other side of the street. _Was that..._ he began, but saw Hinata's questioning look, so he turned and smiled with reassurance.

"Yes, thank you Naruto-kun, I feel so much warmer, thank you," she said with blush.

Naruto nodded. "Cool."

They continued their walk in silence.

* * *

Months passed. During those months, Sakura had noticed a change in him. It was a change that she wasn't exactly sure about. She had started to take notice of her blonde friend and also noticed that Hinata and Naruto seemed to doing a lot of missions together and they were bonding on a level she thought never possible.

Sakura began to observe them from afar, when no one noticed, and finally the realisation hit her. She knew what the change was. It was herself that was beginning to change; her feelings toward her blonde friend.

The feeling she had when she saw Hinata giggling, and Naruto joking with her was one of jealousy. It wasn't that she was angry because he never told her, it was because Hinata used to be _her_. If Hinata came back from a mission that Naruto didn't got on with her, he would always wait for her.

How could this have happened? How could she miss this? The whole time she was working hard at the hospital, she was missing out...she had neglected him, so he moved on.

"Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto with a frown. "A-are you okay?"

The pink haired medic blinked and gasped. "Um...yes of course I am, Naruto!" she exclaimed with a smile.

Of course, it was a fake one.

"I-I have to go," she stammered, walking out of Tsunade's office, leaving both blonde's staring after her retreating form.

"What the hell is her problem?" asked Tsunade, narrowing her eyes at Naruto.

Naruto put his hands up in defense. "I don't know, Granny. I think you scared her off with your oldness."

Suddenly Tsunade's eye began to twitch uncontrollably and just as Naruto was expecting the Hokage to advance on him and punch him to a bloody pulp, she sighed; releasing all her anger in one blow of air.

Naruto also sighed, however, his was one of relief. He had been bashed too many times by both Tsunade and Sakura. He began to leave and reached for the door handle.

"Naruto," said Tsunade sternly.

The blonde man turned and faced the Hokage with a confused frown.

"Do you notice something in Sakura?" asked Tsunade, getting up from her office chair and walked around to sit on the front of the desk.

Naruto let go of the door handle, leaving the door open slightly.

"No, should I?" asked the Fourth Hokage's legacy, with more confusion in his voice. "What are you going on about Granny? Can you hurry cos I have to meet Hinata..."

"Hinata can wait. This is important. There's something missing in her life, don't you notice it?" she asked, her eyes stern and serious, but she was actually gauging his reaction.

Naruto looked away awkwardly. "Naw, Sakura is Sakura, she'll be..."

"No, she won't be Naruto. She...she is special and gifted, beautiful and, well, I'd imagine you know that, don't you?" she said with a raised eye brow.

Naruto simply looked to the floor and then his eyes turned reminiscent. "I guess," he mumbled. "What are you getting at Granny?" He raised his baby blues toward Tsunade's hazel ones.

"I was like her once. But I'll tell you this now, most women in this village end up falling for one of the men in their ninja Team, its a curse, but, its also a gift. Your generation is no different," explained Tsunade.

"Tch," scoffed Naruto. "Well you didn't, so what would you know?"

Tsunade sighed, shaking her head in an ashamed way. "I was like Sakura, because she hides her feelings well. I put all my time and effort into the hospital and missions, I lost sight of what I really wanted, Naruto. But what you didn't know was that Jiraiya and I, well, I..."

"Stop," said Naruto suddenly, turning away with an odd look of disgust. "I get the picture."

"I don't want that for Sakura, a life of being alone," said Tsunade.

Naruto sighed. "And why are you telling me this, Granny? She's happy with what she has now-"

"No, she's not," interrupted Tsunade. "And I know why she isn't happy, because she's exactly like me, in _every_ way." Her last words were spoken in a mysterious tone, as if she was trying to tell him something important.

_So what if Tsunade and Jiraiya were involved in the end? So what if Tsunade was just like..._ thought Naruto, but his thoughts came to a stop. He was sort of getting what Tsunade was trying to say, but more to the point, he really didn't _want_ to know.

"Look, I'm late, I've gotta go, seeya baa-chan!" exclaimed Naruto, running out the door quickly.

As he ran out, his thoughts went wild. He shook his head, trying to forget that whole conversation. He couldn't believe that Tsunade would say something like that, he couldn't believe that Sakura could actually like him, even a little bit, but most of all, he couldn't believe that it actually gave him hope! He'd been pining after her for years and years since they were first in the Academy and then moreso after he had done his training for three years with Jiraiya.

Naruto was so enveloped in his thoughts, he didn't notice Shikamaru's blonde team mate staring at him from around the corner.

_Well I'll be! I wouldn't have thought Sakura would like..._him_ of _all _people!_ she thought mischeviously. Ino watched Naruto run down the hall. _And he..._

But when she had looked at his face as he ran past her, she couldn't tell if he still loved Sakura or not. Sakura wasn't the only one who noticed things; Ino had also observed Hinata and Naruto being together a lot more. On missions and in their free time as well.

Ino planned on being a gossip and telling everyone, but when she thought about how Sakura must have seen this development between the Byakugan user and Naruto she knew that it wasn't the right thing to do. Things were different now, they were adults! But most of all, she sort of knew what Sakura was feeling, and she couldn't lose a friend over gossip, there was just no way!

* * *

"Thank you Sakura-san," said a nurse, smiling. "Your efforts were amazing today, so focused!"

Sakura nodded, returning the smile, as she pushed the large double doors open. As she walked out into the night air, taking in a much needed breath of fresh air when someone approached her. She rolled her eyes and continued to walk.

"What is it, Shishou? I'm tired," said Sakura, swatting her teacher away as she followed her student.

"Sakura. I wanted to let you know that Naruto and Hinata will be off on a long mission as of tomorrow," said Tsunade with mystery in her eyes. Her arms were folded over her bountiful chest with an authoritive look.

The pinkette's eyes widened slightly, but, went back to normal a few seconds later so that Tsunade didn't notice. Sakura stopped walking for a moment, causing Tsunade to follow cue.

"For how long?" asked Sakura, now becoming numb.

"Well, it involves training shinobi in the Land of Waves whom have recently become quite prominent as of late. They requested Naruto and with Hinata's help due to her Byakugan ability it will be easy to see their weaknesses with her eyes. This would involve some months of training, even more," explained Tsunade. As she spoke, she gauged Sakura's reaction.

"I...I see," said Sakura. Her eyes became clouded and reminiscent.

"Sakura, you can't stand there and tell me you don't care about this!" exclaimed the roudy Hokage. She pointed toward Sakura with narrowed eyes.

"What am I supposed to say Shishou?" asked Sakura, incredulously. "You're the Hokage, you deal out the missions. Who am I to question that? Its our duty to carry out the missions for the village, its our duty as a ninja; no matter how small or big."

Tsunade understood her student's thoughts, however, she knew she was just spilling out her duties as if they were written in front of her as script.

"Besides, I can't believe that you of all people would be saying things like this, Shishou. Above all, the village comes first. You _always_ put duty first before feelings..." began Sakura, turning her angered emerald orbs toward her teacher. "And I can only...I can only do what I've learnt from _you_."

The blonde Hokage sighed. _Of course she would say that. And I would agree any other time, but, I can't let Sakura sacrifice everything, even her own personal life, for the village, _thought Tsunade. _She's just too young for that._

"Sakura," said Tsunade, as Sakura was about to walk away.

"What do you want me to do?" asked the pinkette, fed up with the Hokage's words.

"I just, I want you to think about it. They leave at dawn today. Do you really want Naruto to go, without you telling him what you truly feel?" asked Tsunade, causing Sakura to widen her eyes in realisation.

"I...why would I do that?" questioned Sakura, but, it was mainly to herself now.

"Just do the right thing Sakura, but most of all, do what you think is right for yourself," said Tsunade. "Now, I'm going up to the Hokage tower to have a drink."

Usually Sakura would scold her Master by now, but, she was too caught up in her feelings to care.

_I don't have feelings for Naruto, this is silly!_ she thought.

She kept telling herself she didn't; kept saying _I don't have feelings for Naruto_ like a mantra in her head, but it was no use. By the time she came back to reality, Tsunade had left and she knew what she had to do.

The pinkette ran. She ran with a purpose. She was going to tell Naruto what she felt, no matter what. She had to to at least tell him that; she owed him that for all the times that she rejected him and made fun of him. But over the time that Sasuke had left and Naruto had become stronger, something had changed. Sakura realised that now and although it may be too late, she had to at least tell him her feelings before he left, if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

Sakura looked to her blonde friend. Silence had enveloped the room and she couldn't think of anything to say. _Then where is he?_ she asked herself. She looked to Ino with a confused expression upon her face.

"How do you know all this anyway?" asked Sakura, narrowing her eyes with suspicion.

Ino smirked and folded her arms over her chest with an 'all knowing' look.

"Ah, Sakura. I have my ways. If I want information, I get it," said Ino. "Now. What are you going to do?"

Sakura sighed and picked up her mug, still in shock over this whole ordeal, and drank the rest of the tea. "Do you think I should go find him?" asked Sakura, unsure herself, of what she should do.

"Oh Sakura, I think you've forgotten just how selfish I am," started Ino, shaking her head with a snide smile. "And if I knew that Shikamaru was going on a mission with another woman, even though in this case its one of our friends, I would still tell him what I felt and if I got shot down I would try again and again, just to get what I wanted..._who_ I wanted, shall I say."

Ino placed her empty mug in the sink and walked briskly into Sakura's bedroom.

"I-ino...what are you doing?" wondered Sakura, almost afraid to ask. She followed her friend into her bedroom with curiosity.

Ino had gone straight to the pinkette's wardrobe and began fossicking through everything, trying to find the right outfit. Several items were pulled out of her wardrobe and thrown onto her bed with haste, so she didn't answer Sakura straight away.

"Okay! This is what you're wearing," exclaimed Ino, holding up a nice number for her to wear.

The pink haired medic narrowed her eyes at Ino and crossed her arms over her chest. "Ino, I'm _not_ wearing that!" she exclaimed angrily.

In Ino's left hand, she held a hanger with a pair of casual tight fitting jeans, in her right hand she held a pink 'v' cut button up blouse, which Sakura didn't wear much because it showed too much skin and on the floor next to Ino's feet were a pair of black high heels.

"Come on, its not too casual, not too dressed up, and then he'll see what you look like when you want to look pretty," said Ino with a mischevious smirk.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine, but if I do this, you're not allowed to pester me about getting rejected and I don't want to hear any more advice!" said Sakura, unfolding her arms and taking the clothes from the blonde's hands.

"Deal."

Sakura quickly undressed with Ino still in the room and placed the clothes on quickly. She then looked into her full length mirror which was on the inside of one of her wardrobe doors and moved from side o side to see what she looked like and Ino was right. It did look good, but, only in her bedroom. Outside in public, she could be classed as some kind of...skank or something. Her boobs looked bigger with the top making them stick out more and her skin showed near her hips due to the v cut at the front. Her jeans were tight and showed how long her legs were and her shoes made her stand quite tall, making her look slender and she actually looked like a girl for once.

"I don't know Ino, I look a bit-" she began.

"What? Beautiful? That's a woman's right! To dress almost so close to being slutty, but just enough to get a man's attention! If you were dressing slutty, you'd be wearing a mini-skirt...but you're not, so its all good!" exclaimed Ino, causing Sakura to sigh in defeat.

"Okay, so what do I do now?" asked Sakura, who sat on the bed just thinking of what she was going to do.

She still couldn't believe all this. But the more she thought about it, the more it just felt right. She was in love with the World's Loudest Ninja and she couldn't bear it any longer until she knew why he stayed and didn't go on his mission.

"Oh Sakura, you've been out of the game too long! Why don't you just start by walking around a bit," said Ino, smiling knowingly.

The pinkette nodded and walked out the door but not before thanking her friend for her help.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'll ask you for a favour too later," smiled Ino, pushing Sakura out the door hastily. "Now get going."

* * *

"Not eating Naruto?" asked Old Man Ichiraku.

The blonde haired man shook his head, watching as the steam coming off his Pork Ramen fizzled into the air. His head was hung low and his blue orbs were faded in his thoughts. He didn't know why he couldn't leave and didn't know why he just went with his head on this one.

The man who owned the shop began to go back to cooking noodles when he heard the blonde leave. The old man looked at the table to find money placed on the counter and Naruto's ramen untouched.

"Just what is going on with you Naruto?" he asked himself. His thoughts went back to a nostalgic time when the young blonde would come in and finish off at least three bowls, as long as the payment was on someone else.

This made him smile and remember when his team would come and sit down after a long hard mission, with their Sensei Kakashi.

_What was their team number again?_ he thought. He put his index finger and thumb to his chin in deep thought. _Ah, that's right. Team 7._

Naruto headed through the village. He hoped he wouldn't see the Hokage on his way through the village, he couldn't bare to look at her face once he told her Kiba and Akamaru had to go in his place to the Land of Waves. He shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. But he just couldn't do it, the words Sakura said to him the night before shook him and made him realise that there was _no one_ else he could truly love but her. Hanging out with Hinata seemed to ease those thoughts, but in the end, they were still there.

So when Sakura came to him, looking sincere when she said those words and then genuinely heart broken when he told her it was too late, he couldn't forgive himself if he had left the village with her looking at him like that. Like he was...a monster.

Because that's what he was. A monster. He knew she was crying and so when he saw Hinata, Neji and Lee were waiting for him at the gate, it reminded him that if he left at that moment he wouldn't be able to explain why he said it was too late.

However, now that he had stayed, what was he going to do? His thoughts were interrupted as he realised the woman of his thoughts walked his way, looking very fine indeed.

The pinkette walked his way; hips swaying and walking with a purpose. He didn't take her eyes off her until she reached but a metre away from him. His lips were parted and had been rendered speechless. Was this really Sakura Haruno the medical kunoichi? His team mate? And why the hell was she wearing that?

"Naruto, I've been looking for you," she half smiled.

The blonde finally worked up the words to speak. "S-sakura-chan? Why are you wearing that?"

"Oh Naruto...lets take a walk by our old training grounds?" asked the pinkette mysteriously; her demeanor very different to that of last night. She was confident, almost as if last night never happened

Naruto simply nodded, not knowning what else to say. It was very awkward, since their last words spoken last night weren't ones of happiness.

They reached the training grounds promptly. The area was empty and a breeze began to pick up, causing Sakura's arms to have goosebumps form on top of them. She shivered quietly and rubbed her arms as she sat upon a tree stump.

The blonde saw that she was cold and wondered if he should offer her his jacket. He shook his head and took his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders which made Sakura look up into his baby blues for a moment. She smiled and took the jacket happily.

The blonde sat down on the ground and played with a bunch of grass on the ground with his legs crossed. "You should have brought a jacket, Sakura-chan."

Sakura laughed. "Well, Ino picked out the outfit and she didn't give me a jacket," said Sakura with a laugh. She crossed her left leg over her right.

"I-I wanted to ask you Naruto, why didn't you leave?" she asked curiously. Her most prominant question she decided to ask first. She didn't want to pry but in the back of her mind she hoped that it was because of her.

Naruto didn't answer straight away. He knew exactly why he didn't leave, but, he hated having these conversations.

"Well, Kiba was probably more equipped to go and they had Neji and Hinata there," explained Naruto.

Sakura sighed and looked away and into the distance. The trees swayed in the wind and she suddenly remembered when they had trained here when they were younger. Things were so different back then but now...things were so complicated.

"So it wasn't because of what I said last night?" asked Sakura evenly as she began to shiver; not from the cold, but from the thought that maybe Naruto really didn't love her anymore.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he looked out into the distance; he could see the Hokages in the mountain from here. "I-no," he stuttered. He couldn't say the truth.

Naruto Uzumaki could defeat enemies, so powerful and so threatening yet, he couldn't tackle Sakura.

"Oh. I see," said Sakura, cursing Ino's match making. If it weren't for her, she wouldn't be suffering right now. Yes, she was selfish! How could anyone not be? Who would want to go through be rejected a second time.

After a few moments of silence and listening to the wind blow through the training grounds, she picked herself up.

"Okay, I'm going. I'll see you around Naruto," said Sakura with a smile, it was a fake one, but it was a smile. She held her head up high and walked in the opposite direction.

Naruto's ocean blue orbs followed Sakura's form and he looked away unable to watch her leave. _Why did I do that? _he asked himself. He sighed loudly and got up quickly, running after her.

"Wait, Sakura-chan!" said the blonde.

Sakura couldn't look into his eyes, not after the pain she felt right now. Of course, she was being dramatic and of course there were more things to be sad about like death of loved ones, disease etc but, couldn't a woman be selfish sometimes?

"No Naruto, I-I'd like to go home now," she said sadly and this time she wasn't smiling.

The blonde Rasengan user narrowed his eyes and grabbed her elbow tightly. "No Sakura-chan. Just wait will you?"

The pinkette sighed and turned with a roll of her eyes to show him she wasn't impressed.

"Why do you think I stayed?" he asked offhandedly, so much so it caused Sakura to frown.

"I-I don't know, I thought maybe it was because of what I told you last night," said Sakura, unable to look into his eyes.

They were close now, barely half a metre apart. And for the first time in her life of being around Naruto, she felt anxious and there was a light feeling in her stomach. It was like being around Sasuke all those years ago, when he would talk to her and she'd feel giddy. Yes! That's what it was, she was giddy...she was in love!

And suddenly tears began to well up in her eyes that she couldn't hold back. They flowed down her cheek like a river; they wouldn't stop. This made Naruto sigh with guilt and he couldn't believe he made her feel sad like this. He had always made the most effort to make her smile, and back when Sasuke was around he always tried to make her smile even more when Sasuke treated her like shit.

"S-sakura-chan, don't cry..." smiled Naruto. He pulled a weird face, trying to make her laugh and it worked.

A small smile formed through her tears and then they stopped. She sniffed quietly and turned away to look out at the distance or at the trees; anywhere but Naruto's face.

"I-I really do love you Naruto, even if you don't believe me. I really do," said Sakura and although it seemed like she was speaking to him, it was more to herself.

Maybe last night when Tsunade had spoken to her it didn't register properly and maybe when she rushed to his house to tell him her feelings she wasn't even sure herself if she felt them, but as she stood here now in his presence she finally realised that yes, she really was in love with the World's Loudest Ninja and even if she rejected him now, her feelings would and could never change.

And with those words she held her head up high and walked away. She smiled and even swayed her hips a bit because she was happy now that she knew what she felt and that she had said those words to him.

A few moments later she reached the edge of the clearing to where the bush met the village and as she was about to step out, someone stopped her.

"Why do you keep walking away when I didn't even get a chance to say something?" asked a voice from behind her.

The pinkette turned her curious emerald orbs toward blue ocean coloured ones and sighed; tilting her head slightly to the left with her hands on her slender hips. She searched his eyes trying to figure out what he was going to say.

"Look, Naruto. Its okay if you've moved on from me, I mean, I realise that you've been trying to ask me out for years and I kept rejecting you. And that's fine, but I thought it was 'our thing'," said Sakura sadly, her eyes travelling away from his eyes and to the ground as she always did when she was nervous. "I-I guess I just never realised that you would...move on, but then again, I didn't realise I felt this way until last night. I understand if you're with Hinata now; she's a wonderful, kind and beautiful person and she's my friend too, so I..."

Sakura was interrupted by Naruto's form but inches away from her. The blonde had been stepping closer and closer to her as she was mumbling away. She looked up into his eyes.

_When did he get so tall? Have I really been missing you this whole time? _she thought to herself.

"N-naruto?" asked Sakura, her eyes wide with surprise and her cheeks red with the distance in which their faces were to each other.

Sakura stepped up on her tippy toes, leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, after all, Naruto wasn't one for intimacy. His eyes widened but he went with it. He sort of just mimicked her lips seeing how he'd never kissed anyone before and then finally he got the hang of it and placed his arms around Sakura's lower back, pulling her closer so that their bodies molded together. He lifted her up with his hands underneath her buttox and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Finally their tongues entered each other's mouths just to finish off and then they pulled away.

Sakura looked down at Naruto, as he had her lifted up just above him, and smiled happily.

"I think you talk too much, and you thought I was the one to talk all the time!" said Naruto with a cheesy smile.

"Well, you are the World's Loudest Ninja, you know," said Sakura, whom leaned into his left shoulder and rested her chin on his shoulder.

They hugged for a while before Naruto let Sakura onto the ground.

"You know I'll always love you...Sakura-chan. Why would you think otherwise?" asked the blonde as they began to trek back to the village.

"Well, you seemed to be getting close to Hinata and-" began Sakura, but Naruto's laughter stopped her.

The pinkette narrowed her eyes angrily. "Why are you laughing at me baka?" she exclaimed in an annoyed tone, stopping in her tracks.

Usually her tone and look would stop his laughter straight away, and he would begin to fear for his life, but, this time it really didn't faze him. He stopped laughing shortly after and shook his head.

"We're just friends Sakura-chan. We're close as friends but the one she's really interested in is Kiba, that's why I asked him to go in my place," smiled Naruto.

He closed the gap between them and placed his arm around the back of Sakura's neck, in which she wrapped her arm around his lower back. They walked in-sync all the way home.

* * *

**A/N: **_Finally done, you've no idea how long this took. Sorry for the length, please read and review._


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